Jeremiah carhart



'J, CARHART.

MBLODEON.

No. 15,218. Patented July 1, 1856 I 1 A m @v UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE,

JEREMIAH GARHART, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MELODEON.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,218, dated July 1, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEREMIAH CARHART, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Melodeons; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is avertical sectional view of the upper part of the wind receiver and keyboards of a melodeon, exhibiting my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsectional view taken just below the lower keys.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

This invention relates to melodeons in which two single or double setsof reeds are employed with two sets of valves having mechanism inconnection with them and two banks of keys which admit of one or bothsets of reeds being played or both sets with one hand and one with theother, and my improvement consists in a novel construction of couplerand arrangement of it in a cavity in the side of the key for action ornot as required with the intermediate lever which operates the one setof reeds, as will be hereinafter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, A are two separate chambers in the wind chest or receiver, arrangedone behind the other.

B, is a set of valves in the top of the front chamber A, communicatingwith a set of reeds O, and B is another set of valves in the rearchamber A communicating with another set of reeds C The two sets ofvalves are both on the same level and so are the two sets of reeds. D,is a key board supporting the lower bank of keys E, which work on pinsp, and D is a key board above the keys E, supporting the upper bank ofkeys E which work on pins 79 The lower keys E are long and the upperones E are short. The lower keys E operate upon the front set of valvesB, by means of push down pins a, in a manner substantially like theoperation of the keys of a melodeon with a single set of valves. Theupper keys E operate on the rear set of valves through the agency ofintermediate levers G, which are placed below the lower keys in a recess6,

made in the lower key board D. These intermediate levers G, have theirfulcra at their front extremities under a strip of wood a which issecured to the front of the recess 5, and are acted upon by the keys Ethrough push down pins (Z, near their rear extremities, transmitting theaction of the keys to the rear set of valves B through push down pins 6.The pins (Z, have to pass through holes in the lower keys, and the pushdown pins a have to pass through holes in the levers G. Each of thelower keys E, is furnished with a coupler f, consisting of a small pieceof wood suspended on a pivot within a recess on one side by which it iscapable, when depressed in playing, of depressing the correspondinglever G, and thereby opening the rear valve B corresponding with its ownvalve B, thus allowing both sets of valves to be operated by the set ofkeys E, but notches are made in the levers G, for the couplers to fallinto as the keys E, are depressed, when it is desired to use the twosets of keys independently. The couplers are caused to fall into thenotches when desired, by means of an uncoupling bar, which consists of alight metal rod F, extending the whole length of the instrument in rearof the couplers, and attached at its ends to two arms 2', i. see Fig. 2,working on fixed pivots 7', y"; the said bar, when drawn longitudinallyin one direction mov ing forward from the position shown in bold outlineto that shown in dotted outline and throwing all the couplers at onceover the notches so that when the upper keys are depressed. the levers Gwill not be acted upon. When the uncoupling bar is moved back again, thecouplers are thrown back from over the notches g, by means of smallsprings 72, with which they are severally furnished, and the front keysthen operate on both sets of valves.

The above arrangement of keys, couplers and notched intermediate levers,when the couplers are thrown out of operation, admits of either set ofreeds being played with both hands operating on one set of keys or oneset with one hand and one with the other; or, when the couplers are inoperation, it allows the two sets of reeds to be played, with both handsoperating on the front set of keys or the two sets with one hand and theback set only with the other hand. These results are obtained withoutmaterially increasing the depth of the case or the size oft-heinstrument in any direction.

In arranging the two sets of valves as described, in the two windchambers A, A, it has been a matter of some difficulty to apply thesprings in such a manner as to be free from some objection partly owingto the thinness of the partition, Z, between the chambers, whichprecludes the possibility of attaching separate springs of the ordinarykind in the usual way. This difficulty I remedy by making a'doublespring on of a single piece of wire to serve for two correspondingvalves of each set. This spring is in the form of a bow and is fitted topass easily through a small hole made through the partition Z, and afterbeing passed through the hole its ends are turned up to enter smallholes in the bottoms of the valves. close each valve when openedseparately or both when opened together. out any dragging motion orfriction on the valves, as its points move parallel with the points ofthe valves on which they press. It also admits of the ready removal ofeither or both valves for repair which can be effected by simplyspringing down its points from their holes in the valves and turning thespring halfway round in the hole in the par tition Z to throw its pointsdownward as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2. This leaves room to takeout the valves and leaves them entirely detached and ready to fall outor be removed, as they are made without hinges and only held in place bythe spring which, when in action, not only holds the valves up to theirplaces, but prevents them moving longitudinally, all else that isnecessary to keep the valve in place being notches 72, n, in their endsto receive fixed pins 0, 0, which prevent any lateral movement. A

spring of this kind is applicable in all melo- The spring thus applied,serves to It works with deons where two sets of valves are arranged inline with each other, to open at their adj acent ends like the valves B,B.

The drawing shows two single sets of reeds but two double sets may beused without any material change in the arrangementmuch as not only isthe general action of the coupler f simpler, its gear with anddisconnection from the lever 9 more rapid and direct in relation to thereed it influences, but space is materially economized and, whileadmitting of a good and suflicient length of coupler f being used, itenables the upper bank of keys to be placed as little above the lowerones as possible (which is a material consideration when the one hand isused to perform on both banks) by reason of the arrangement of thecoupler f in a cavity in the side of the key which cavity also servesfor the spring 7: that throws back the coupler.

Nhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The coupler f arranged in a cavity of the key and operatingessentially as and for the purposes described.

2. The double springs m, constructed and applied substantially as hereindescribed to act, each on a valve of each set, so that by turning it,the two valves may be liberated and capable of removal.

J. CARHART.

lVitnesses:

WVM. TUsoI-I, JAMES F. BUOKLEY.

